0521 The Xinjing Bao carried an article today, May 20, 2010

							S&T Highlights of China
May, 2010
NSF China Office
(All the S&T excerpts below are from Chinese official websites and
reports.)

NSFC launches first major international review of effectiveness
China to establish more competitive, innovative workforce
China's Cabinet approves education reform plan
China to invite 100,000 U.S. nationals to study Chinese over 4 years
Professor James M. Tiedje appointed “Einstein Professorship of CAS”
China's fastest computer developed in Tianjin
China announces breakthrough in transgenic sheep research
China launches northwest Pacific Ocean current, weather research project
China to launch fourth orbiter for global satellite navigation network
China starts training seven new astronauts including two females
China's oceanic research ship returns home after 315 day mission
China's fastest high speed train 380A rolls off production line
2nd Sino-German Workshop of Cooperation held in Shanghai
Marine eco-environment continues to deteriorate in South China's Guangdong

NSFC launches first major international review of effectiveness
Source: The Beijing News, 2010-05-20

The Beijing News carried an article on May 20, 2010, announcing the launching of the first
major international review of the NSFC's effectiveness at administering China’s National
Natural Science Fund. Since its inauguration in 1986, the NSFC has grown from 80 million
yuan ($11.7 million at today's exchange rate of 6.83 Yuan/dollar) to 9.5 billion Yuan (ca.
$1.4 billion) in 2010. The 2010 budget is a 48% increase over the 2009 budget of 6.4 billion
Yuan. The international review was set in motion by the NSFC and the Ministry of Finance
and will focus on both the support for S&T and the managerial effectiveness of the NSFC. It
will be completed in 2011. The Review Working Group is headed by NSFC's President Prof.
Chen Yiyu. The review will be carried out by the National S&T Review Center.

China to establish more competitive, innovative workforce
Source: Xinhua, 2010-05-27

Chinese President Hu Jintao has called for the creation of a more competitive and innovative
workforce, with the focus on training more top-notch specialists at a central work conference
on human resources in Beijing. He said human resources were essential to the development
of the Party and the state, and the quality of China’s workforce was still poor compared to
that of developed countries. He said in a statement released after the meeting that China
would enhance its workforce’s strength, and the fostering of high-caliber professionals would
be a priority. China would work to have a large high-quality workforce and to be a strong
world power in terms of human resources by 2020.

At the conference, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao pledged more support to high-caliber
creative specialists that are urgently needed in China. The government would encourage
overseas Chinese students to find employment or start up businesses in China.

Wen said China would increase its funding for the training and education of high-caliber
specialists, with investments coming from the government, individuals, enterprises and social
organizations.

China's Cabinet approves education reform plan
Source: Xinhua, 2010-05-06

The Chinese government has approved an education reform plan for the next decade which
promises to prioritize the development of education while ensuring fairness in the system.
A meeting of the State Council, or China's Cabinet, approved the final version of the Medium
and Long-term National Educational Reform and Development Plan (2010-2020), according
to a statement issued by the State Council.

The development of education ranging from pre-school education to vocational education in
rural areas will be a priority in the country's overall development programs, according to the
plan. Government investment will increase steadily to support the education sector, with the
ratio of government's education expenditure in terms of gross domestic product (GDP) to be
4 percent by 2012, according to the meeting presided over by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao.

The statement said the plan would bring "innovation" to the way universities enrolled
students, without giving details. The reforms would also encourage private organizations and
individuals to play a greater role in the education system.

China to invite 100,000 U.S. nationals to study Chinese over 4 years
Source: Xinhua, 2010-05-26

China will facilitate 100,000 U.S. nationals studying Chinese over the coming four years,
according to Zhang Xiuqin, Director of the Department of International Cooperation and
Exchanges, Ministry of Education of China. She briefed at a press conference on the
exchange programs agreement reached at the second round of the China-U.S. Strategic and
Economic Dialogue. The agreement includes the inviting to China of U.S. students, principals
of U.S. primary and secondary schools and Chinese teachers of American nationality. It also
includes the inviting of U.S. college students to summer camps in China.
Also under the program, 10,000 Chinese postgraduates will go to the United States to
undertake PhD programs.

Professor James M. Tiedje appointed “Einstein Professorship of CAS”
Source: CAS, 2010-05-11

Prof. James M. Tiedje of the Michigan State University was appointed the “Einstein
Professorship of Chinese Academy of Sciences” in the Institute of Urban Environment (IUE).
Prof. ZHU Yongguan, director of IUE, awarded the certificate to Prof. Tiedje, who
afterwards delivered a speech entitled “Biology’s Greatest Frontier: Our Microbial Allies in a
Sustainable World”.

China's fastest computer developed in Tianjin
Source: Xinhua, 2010-05-28

A super computer that runs at more than one quadrillion calculations per second in practical
use has been developed in Tianjin, making it the fastest one in China. The supercomputer,
named Xingyun, doubles the speed of "Tianhe-1," previously the fastest one in China
developed by the National University of Defense Technology last October. Xingyun’s peak
performance reaches nearly three quadrillion calculations per second, three times of the peak
speed of Tianhe-1.

Xingyun is the server part of "Dawning 6000," aiming to meet the application demand of
"cloud computing," or more specifically scientific computing, intelligent Internet searching
and DNA sequencing. By the end of 2010, "Dawning 6000" will be delivered to National
Supercomputing Center in Shenzhen of south China's Guangdong Province for computing
and information services in southern China, including Hong Kong and Macao.

China announces breakthrough in transgenic sheep research
Source: CAS, 2010-05-26

Chinese scientists announced that they have successfully developed a technique which could
lead to the breeding of transgenic sheep in large numbers.

Dr. Liu Mingjun with the Xinjiang Academy of Zootechnical Science said that the technique
called "lentivirus” was more efficient and predictable than traditional methods, and could
give China the edge for breeding genetically altered sheep and establishing a new transgenic
sheep species.

Liu said that his research team had for two years been doing transgenic experiments including
cloning genes related to muscle- and wool-growth. The research team employed the
innovative lentivirus technique to have 473 transgenic embryos transferred into 255 ewes,
and 118 ewes got pregnant. The technique would require scientists to inject the cloned
exogenous genes related to muscle- and wool-growth into lentivirus vectors.

China launches northwest Pacific Ocean current, weather research project
Source: Xinhua 2010-05-30

More than 40 scientists began The Northwest Pacific Ocean Circulation and Climate
Experiment (NPOCE), an international research project, on the northwest Pacific Ocean and
its climate in the eastern China coastal city of Qingdao. The project will observe, simulate
and understand the structure, variability and dynamics of the ocean and its role in modulating
climate systems, according to Hu Dunxin from the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
Initiated by Chinese scientists, experts from 19 institutes in eight countries, including the
United States, Japan and Australia, are participating in the project. The research will play an
important role in understanding global climate change and improve China's ability to forecast
weather.

China to launch fourth orbiter for global satellite navigation network
Source: Xinhua, 2010-05-31

China is to launch its fourth orbiter into space as a part of its satellite navigation and
positioning network known as Beidou, or Compass system. The satellite would be launched
on the Long March 3III carrier rocket. If launched successfully, the orbiter will join another
three satellites in orbit to form a network that will eventually total 35 satellites.

According to plan, the network will be capable of providing global navigation services across
the world around 2020. The system will provide navigation, time signal and short message
services in the Asia and Pacific region around 2012.

China started to build up its own satellite navigation system to break its dependence on the
U.S. GPS system in 2000, when it sent two orbiters as a double-satellite experimental
positioning system, known as the Beidou system.

China starts training seven new astronauts including two females
Source: Xinhua, 2010-05-18

China's space training center has started training seven newly-recruited astronauts to conduct
scientific experiments in upcoming space missions. According to the People's Liberation
Army (PLA) Daily Tuesday, the China Astronaut Research and Training Center has launched
basic training courses for manned space missions for the new recruits - five males and two
females. The new recruits, selected by the PLA's General Armament Department, are all duty
pilots, married, and hold bachelor's degrees. The eldest is 35 and the youngest 30.
The male candidates were previously fighter pilots and the women were transport plane pilots.
They have on average logged 1,270.7 hours of flight time. According to Major General Yang
Liwei, China's first astronaut who was sent into space in 2003, the new recruits will join other
astronauts in the training program and take on more difficult tasks as their mission will be
tougher than previous ones.

China's oceanic research ship returns home after 315 day mission
Source: Xinhua, 2010-05-28

China's research ship used to explore for oceanic mineral resources, Dayang Yihao, or Ocean
One, returned to Qingdao port after completing its 21st expedition. The mission discovered
five new hot liquid sulfides areas -- two in the Atlantic Ocean, two in the Pacific Ocean and
one in the Indian Ocean, according to Tao Chunhui, Chief Scientist for maritime exploration.

The expedition was divided into eight work trips and about 216 scientists and staff took part
in the mission. China began oceanic scientific research in the 1970s and drew up its oceanic
mine resource plan in 1984. It has since established hi-tech work platforms for deep-sea
mineral exploitation, transport and smelting.

China's fastest high speed train 380A rolls off production line
Source: Xinhua, 2010-05-27

China's fastest high speed train rolled off the production line at the Changchun Railway
Vehicles Co., Ltd in Changchun. The new generation train "380A" has the maximum
operating speed of 380 km per hour. The trains, which China has the independent intellectual
property rights of, will run for the first time on the Beijing-Shanghai high speed railway that
is to be completed and opened in 2011.

High speed trains with the maximum operating speed of 350 km have been running on three
lines that link Beijing and Tianjin, Wuhan and Guangzhou, Zhengzhou and Xi'an.

2nd Sino-German Workshop of Cooperation held in Shanghai
Source: CAS, 2010-05-24

The 2nd Sino-German Workshop of Cooperation was held in Shanghai. Prof. JIANG
Mianheng, Vice President of CAS signed a cooperation agreement with Prof. Achim
Bachem,Vice President of the Helmholtz Association of German Research Centers. The two
sides will conduct cooperation in joint research laboratories, sharing of research facilities
and exchange of students, according to the agreement.

After signing the agreement Prof. JIANG Mianheng awarded Prof. Bachem the Honorary
Guest Professorship of CAS Shanghai Institute of Microsystem and Information technology
(SIMIT). The workshop includes three parallel sessions. About 50 presentations in the fields
of super-computation, bioelectronics, and superconducting were made by the scientists from
both sides in two days.

Marine eco-environment continues to deteriorate in South China's Guangdong
Source: Xinhua, 2010-05-20

Seawater pollution remains serious in the coastal waters off South China's Guangdong
Province, where the marine ecological environment continues to deteriorate, according to
local maritime authorities.

The seawater quality of the province has worsened since the monitoring began in 2001, says
an annual monitoring report released by the Guangdong provincial oceanic and fisheries
administration. The Pearl River estuary, in particular, is the most polluted sea area of our
province, according to Qu Jiashu, Deputy Director of the Administration.
.
According to the report, the area with "clean" seawater accounted for 54 percent of the total
sea area along the coast of Guangdong in 2009, down 3.6 percent year on year, while the area
with "moderately and seriously polluted" seawater increased by 16.3 percent.

Based on data from observation stations in the shore areas of 14 coastal cities, the report
shows that the seawater quality of Guangzhou, Dongguan and Zhongshan, as well as
Shenzhen and Zhuhai, which neighbors Hong Kong and Macao, has fallen into the category
of "seriously polluted."